Screenshot of Parametric Shapes Generator app
Figure 1 - A screenshot of the Parametric Shapes Generator tool running as a desktop application.
Download Application

Right-click the icon for your operating system and choose 'Save target as...'

       

The quickest way to get into this Processing app is to click the Simple Random button a few times, located in the bottom-left beneath the Shape Parameters panel. As not all the shape equations are stable for all values across their parameter range, I’ve done a bit of work to limit the randomisation to reasonably valid values for each shape type.

Use the menus along the top to change the Color and Shape Type mode, or you can use the shortcut keys indicated in the menus if you have a keyboard attached.

You can also adjust any of the sliders to interact with the shape in real-time. The Shape Params sliders are specific to each shape type whereas the Shell Params are common to all and allow you to stretch and offset the generated surface into shell-like forms. The regeneration should be fast enough on most modern computers and tablets, but you can turn off real-time updating using the Real-Time checkbox. Also, not all the sliders are active for all shape equations, but you should be able to easily see when they are enabled/disabled.


Change Log

1.0.0 2014-05-12

  • Initial release.

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